She Knows
by timelords-wizards-winchesters
Summary: He didn't know how the day was going to end, so he couldn't put it off any longer, and he didn't want to. She'd waited too long already - she deserved to know. He needed to tell her. To tell all of them. They deserved to know. Rose deserved to know. The moment in Journey's End before the Doctor and his companions leave the TARDIS to board the Dalek Crucible.


"We'll have to go out. Because if we don't, they'll get in."

The Doctor glanced around the console room, his mind reeling.

He had no idea how they would find their way out of this one. If they even could.

"You told me nothing could get through those doors," Rose said, and he knew she was putting on a front and that she sounded braver than she felt. But he sensed it, the fear that lingered just beneath the surface of her words. The Daleks had taken her from him one too many times. His chest tightened. He wouldn't let that happen again.

"You've got extrapolator shielding," said Jack.

"Last time we fought the Daleks, they were scavengers and hybrids, and mad. This is a fully-fledged Dalek Empire at the height of its power. Experts at fighting TARDISes, they can do anything. Right now, that wooden door is just wood."

Jack's brow furrowed as he looked toward the door, then glanced back at Rose.

"What about your dimension jump?"

"It needs another twenty minutes to charge," she told him. Then she looked at the Doctor, her eyes burning. "And anyway, I'm not leaving."

The Doctor nodded, stepping toward her and linking their hands. He wouldn't send her away, not now. Not after he knew what it was like to live without her. He'd become selfish, in her absence, and now that she was here, right within reach, he couldn't bear to imagine losing her again.

Rose smiled at him, and his hearts swelled. He swallowed back an unexpected flux of emotions. He knew, in that moment, that he didn't care what he had to do to stop the empire of Daleks right outside the door. He just wanted her here, beside him, to hold his hand for forever. She'd promised him. A promise that she intended to keep, if the strength of her grip was any indication.

"What about your teleport?" the Doctor asked Jack. The agent shook his head.

"Went down with the power loss."

"Right then," the Doctor said, setting his shoulders. He frowned a bit. "All of us together. Yeah?"

Rose and Jack nodded once in silent agreement. Donna seemed distracted, and he called over to her softly.

"Donna?"

The ginger woman snapped out of her daze and met his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said. "There's nothing else we can do."

"No, I know," Donna said. His hearts clenched. She believed in him, trusted him with all she had. They all did.

"Daleks," Rose said with an incredulous laugh. She bit her bottom lip nervously. The Doctor could feel her pulse quicken, tracing over her wrist with his fingers. His grip tightened, his eyes trailing over her, and he thanked the universe for giving her back to him – for giving him one more chance. He wouldn't let it slip past him, not again.

"Oh, God," Jack said. Even Donna cracked a tiny smile.

Looking around at the three people he shared the room with, it struck him how much they each meant to him. Jack, the conman turned companion. A friend he didn't deserve. Donna, who never gave herself enough credit. He wished he'd told her more often, now, how clever she was. And Rose…

The TARDIS hummed purposefully in his mind. He didn't know how the day was going to end. He couldn't put it off any longer, and he didn't want to. She'd waited too long already - she deserved to know. He needed to tell her. To tell all of them. They deserved to know. Rose deserved to know.

"It's been good though, hasn't it? All of us. All of it. Everything we did."

They all nodded, remembering. He smiled manically at them.

"You were brilliant," he told Jack. The man offered a salute, setting his shoulders bravely. The Doctor looked to Donna. "And you were brilliant." A tiny smile crossed her face. Then he turned to Rose. "And you – " the words died in his throat. Rose Tyler. Always leaving him speechless, stumbling over his words. But he wouldn't let it go unsaid, not this time.

His eyes met Rose's and he felt the weight of the moment. He could reach out and touch her, now. Not like last time. He did.

His fingers danced across her jaw, his thumb tracing her mouth, which curved into a smile. Her hands came up to rest on his chest, and he was sure she could feel his hearts pounding beneath her gentle touch. She shifted closer to him. They stayed that way, just for a moment, pressed close together and breathing the same air. Then he leaned forward.

Their lips met in a chaste kiss, but it was more than that too – it was everything. It meant everything. Everything he could never say before, he told her now, in the soft pressure of his lips slanting against hers. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth and he stifled a groan, delighting in the taste of her as his tongue traced the seam of her lips.

"I love you," the Doctor whispered against Rose's mouth, and her breath hitched. Her lips pressed into his with more purpose, fervently, and his arms wound around her waist, clutching her to him.

They broke apart slowly, reluctantly. The Doctor's desperation was evident in the way he clung to Rose, afraid she would disappear before his eyes.

"I love you," she told him, their foreheads resting against one another. Her hands stroked through his hair in an effort to calm him. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I love you," he repeated. A brilliant smile crossed her face and she pressed a light kiss to his lips.

He appreciated the moment for as long as he could – registering every sensation – her scent surrounding him, the curve of her body against his, the sound of her steady breathing. Then he reached for her hand and turned toward the door, feeling just a bit lighter.

Jack was staring at them with a smirk, Donna with a soft smile and watery eyes.

"Blimey," the Doctor said, tugging Rose flush against his side. He didn't want to leave the TARDIS – but Rose urged him forward, tugging him along with her. They couldn't put it off any longer.

They walked toward the door, Jack and Donna following them. He reached out a hand, laying it on the wood, and pushed. And they stepped out into the chaotic universe together.


End file.
